Pakistani arrested over prayer ritual for suicide bomber

Suicide bomber: Shehzad Tanweer

By Massoud Ansari in Karachi

12:01AM BST 31 Jul 2005

A Pakistani who led a mass prayer ceremony for one of the London suicide bombers at his ancestral village in the Punjab has been arrested as part of President Pervez Musharraf's anti-terrorism clampdown.

Molvi Abdul Rehman, 30, was detained after he organised a ritual service in honour of Shehzad Tanweer, the 22-year-old Briton whose parents emigrated from Pakistan. Tanweer killed himself and six passengers in the Aldgate Tube bombing on July 7.

The ceremony, held at the Samoondran mosque in the Tanweer family's home village of Kottan in southern Punjab, saw members of the crowd of 100 hailing Tanweer as a "hero of Islam".

Pakistani intelligence sources said that Rehman was believed to have been seen in Tanweer's company when he visited the village last year, about the time that he is thought to have received terrorist training. "We would like to find out from him whom else he [Tanweer] interacted with when he stayed in this village for several weeks," said one official.

Details of Rehman's arrest emerged as General Musharraf, the military ruler, announced plans to expel an estimated 1,400 foreign students from the country's Islamic madrassa schools, among them some Britons.

Announcing the measures on Friday night, Gen Musharraf also said that Pakistani families in Britain had a responsibility to warn their children of the dangers of extremism. "The fault lies with the people of Pakistani origin," he said. "Why have your children not been assimilated into the society that you have adopted for yourselves?"

Information gleaned from the arrest of Rehman has also led to the detention of Maulana Abdul Aziz Faridi, the leader of a local seminary called Jamia Masjid Ahle-Sunnah Wal-Jammat.

Pakistani intelligence agencies believe that this may be one of the madrassas attended by at least one of the three bombers when they visited the country. One intelligence source said: "We are also trying to find out if he [Tanweer] had ever discussed issues like suicide with the madrassa head."

Rehman and Faridi are not wanted by the government in direct connection with terror activities, but both men are said to be linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a defunct organisation known for its involvement in several suicide attacks, including two failed assassination attempts on Gen Musharraf.

As part of continuing attempts to shed more light on Tanweer's activities, police also raided the house of one of his uncles, Tahir Pervez - where Tanweer is believed to have stayed. Books and literature were taken away.

Under pressure from the international community, Pakistani authorities have arrested up to 800 people suspected of involvement in Islamic terrorism.